Bin collections are still being missed on some streets in Barnet more than a year after a major shake-up of the waste service, opposition councillors have said.

More than 600 people signed a petition to “sort out Barnet’s bins” amid ongoing reports of missed collections and complaints not being resolved quickly enough by the council.

The petition, which was started by Labour environment spokesman Cllr Alan Schneiderman (Woodhouse), was discussed at a meeting of Finchley and Golders Green area committee on Monday (January 3).

Labour councillors called for extra measures to improve the waste service and asked for the environment committee to look at ways of improving communication with residents.

But members of the Conservative administration insisted the service was now working well and individual problems would be sorted out.

Cllr Schneiderman told the meeting: “The waste service still suffers from difficulties, with a £1.8 million overspend and £250,000 per month being spent on agency costs, and no savings being made from the reorganisation.

“Although the bin chaos has got better, as was mentioned at the residents’ forum, there are still problems and persistent areas that are regularly missed.”

Cllr Schneiderman said there was also a problem of “poor communication” from the council, with residents repeatedly making complaints but not receiving satisfactory responses.

He called for the environment committee to look at ways to improve communications with residents.

Chairman of the environment committee Cllr Dean Cohen (Conservative, Golders Green) said he was more than happy to deal with any problems affecting individual roads, but it was not necessary to take individual cases to the environment committee.

Committee chairman Cllr Jennifer Grocock (Conservative, Finchley Church End) added the council had been “working tirelessly” to improve communications since Cllr Dan Thomas became leader last year but pointed out it was a “work in progress”.

And Cllr Peter Zinkin (Conservative, Childs Hill) accused Cllr Schneiderman of using the area committee “as a vehicle for publicity”.

He said: “(Cllr Schneiderman) is the lead member for the Labour Group on the environment committee. He has the capability of raising any matters he wishes to that committee, and he has already raised every single one of these issues.

“As we have explained to him in great detail, the £2 million overspend is not an overspend – it was a budget error.

“We have demonstrated to him that costs have come down, and he is merely using this committee as a vehicle for publicity.”

But Cllr Ross Houston (Labour, West Finchley) said taking the petition further would show “we are listening to the residents”.

Labour councillors lost their bid to refer the petition to the environment committee after Conservative members voted against the proposal.